My dance teacher calls me Janeé.
I started taking dance classes this year and began one-on-one lessons with one of my SassClass teachers last month. When she’s trying to give me a confidence pep talk, she refers to me as Janeé. “You have to be the most confident and carefree Janeé you can be.” I haven’t corrected her. Partly because I know it’s a small language mistake—she’s Italian—and because what a cool way to tap into another identity and persona, particularly one that has always been there.
I have the meanings of my first and middle names outlined on my website, but I usually go by “LySaundra Janeé” if I’m writing or just “LySaundra” in my day-to-day. Only my mom calls me by my middle name Janeé.
If LySaundra—liberator, emancipator, defender of humankind—is the epitome of justice, Janeé—a gracious, gift from God—is the epitome of pure joy. And Janeé is what I want to lean into more in the coming year.
No, I’m not changing my name or giving any of y’all permission to refer to me as Janeé. I am encouraging a mindset shift. I’ve talked a lot in the last year or so about learning to focus on what I’m for, not just what I’m against. And more than anything, that means joy and healing—especially when it comes to this Black body.
Pure joy is what I experience when I get out of my head and just move however my body wants to move during dance classes. I’ve taken everything this year from “flirty floorwork” and “chairography” to pole classes (check out SADA, a Black women-owned studio in Brooklyn!), hip hop, and reggaeton. And while I may not be at a level to perform or participate in any competitions, Janeé has been doing the damn thing getting connected to sensual movement, building strength, and relearning what it’s like to take up a new skill solely for joy.
What persona or alter ego are you making room for in the new year? Schedule a free coaching call with me and let’s chat more about it!
What I’m Reading & Watching:
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis
What Winners Won’t Tell You by Malcolm Jenkins
Unprotected Texts: The Bible's Surprising Contradictions about Sex and Desire by Jennifer Wright Knust
Black Cake (on Hulu—We read the novel under the same name by Charmaine Wilkerson for my book club and highly suggest checking it out!)
Leave the World Behind (on Netflix) 🫠
Check out more reading suggestions at my Bookshop:
What I’m Listening To:
By the time you receive this newsletter, I hope I’ll be listening to a new album by Rapsody, unless she’s just trolling us #RapIsBack
How to Look Busy (from How to Keep Time limited podcast series by The Atlantic): “Many of us complain about being too busy—and about not having enough time to do the things we really want to do. But has busyness become an excuse for our inability to focus on what matters?”
Getting Off The Beaten Path (from Reset with Liz Tran): This episode digs into why many of us feel compelled to follow traditional paths and how fulfillment and joy come from unorthodox routes.
My “fine ass auntie” playlist has been on repeat. It’s full of 70s and 80s bangers from ultimate divas like Diana Ross and Donna Summer.
More tunes were added to the monthly picks playlist. Take a listen at all the songs from this year:
For Justice & Joy,
LySaundra Janeé
See you all in the FLOURISHING new year 🌺